PHILADELPHIA — At first glance, it would seem the Phillies, who won all three of their playoff openers last season, are off to a fast start this year.

They have a defending Cy Young award winner pitching against the Rockies today. And not just any defending Cy Young winner. Cliff Lee won it in the American League, which no less an authority than Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca calls “the hairy-chested league.”

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he considered last year’s World Series MVP, Cole Hamels, for the Game 1 assignment, but decided to go with Lee. No surprise there. The only eyebrows Manuel raised came when he, unlike Jim Tracy, refused to identify his Game 3 starter.

The Phillies acquired Lee before the trading deadline to pitch in October, not August and September. So it only made sense that he got the ball for the opener. And sealing the deal was the Rockies’ 27-26 record against left-handed starters, 8-16 on the road.

“Left-handed pitchers against Colorado, to me, definitely comes into play,” Manuel said. “And I think with Lee and Hamels, we’ve got two top-notch pitchers going in the first two games.”

Lee has all the credentials in the world, including last year’s 22-3 record with the Indians. But there’s no denying his struggles down the stretch, either. He won his first five starts with the Phillies, during which he compiled a 0.68 ERA. Since then? Try 2-4, 6.13 in seven starts.

“I’ve made some mistakes over the past few games, but that usually boils down to three or four pitches and 100-some-odd others. That’s when you hope they hit it to someone. But for whatever reason, I’ve made some mistakes that they’ve hit out of the ballpark, or hit in the gaps.”

Lee makes his living throwing four-seam fastballs, going up and down in the strike zone before trying to entice hitters to chase breaking balls low and away. It’s a game plan that produced a career year in 2008 and a solid one in ’09. Now for the fine print: He pitched a career-high 231 2/3 innings this season and allowed a career-high 245 hits. And he has never pitched in the playoffs.

The obvious question, given his late-season fade: Should fatigue be a concern?

“No, I feel as strong as I’ve felt the whole year,” he said. “You prepare for 162 games, plus some games in the end, if you’re lucky. That’s where I’m at now. I feel strong and healthy.”